Judicial Ratings

Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee

Judicial Evaluations

Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee

KABA is a proud member of the Washington State Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee (JAJEC). Created in July 2006, the JAJEC includes members from KABA, the Asian Bar Association of Washington, the South Asian Bar Association, and the Vietnamese American Bar Association. Click here to read the JAJEC bylaws.

The JAJEC was created in part to ensure that judicial candidates are aware of and consider the issues important to the Asian Specialty Bars. All of our ratings are available to the public to educate voters of those candidates who meet the qualifications to serve on the judiciary as defined by the Asian Specialty Bars.

WHO WE EVALUATEWe evaluate individuals seeking either appointment or election to judicial office. We evaluate candidates for a variety of judicial positions, including: municipal and district courts, superior courts, superior court commissioner seats, courts of appeals, and the Washington Supreme Court.

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEANWe do NOT endorse candidates for judicial office. Rather, we evaluate candidates by providing the public with our ratings. Candidates may be rated as follows:

A candidate may be rated exceptionally well qualified (EWQ), well qualified (WQ), qualified (Q), or not qualified (NQ) based on various factors including his or her integrity, fairness, legal ability, and demonstrated commitment to equal justice. The JEC chair notifies the Applicant of the rating within two days by phone or mail. This rating is valid for three years and ratings for candidates actively seeking positions are posted on this website. Although a rating is made public, all information disclosed by the Applicant or the Applicant’s references and all discussions of the Committee are kept confidential.